Feed-water heater.



PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

C. STIGKLE. FEED WATER HEATER. APPLIUATION FILED APE. 2.1906.

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fifzmsses W W PATENTED NOV. 5; 1907.

- G. STIGKLE.

FEED WATER HEATER. APPLICATION FILED APB. 2.1906.

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COLE STIOKLE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO OPEN COIL HEATER &PURIFIER COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS,

INDIANA.

FEED-WATER HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

To all whom it may concemr Be it known that I, COLE STIGKLE, a citizenof the United States of America, and a resident of Indianapolis, countyof Marion, State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Feed-Water Heaters, of which the following isaspecification.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an efficient andimproved form of open feed water heater, to provide improved means forcontrolling the flow of steam through said heater, to provide improvedoil separating means adapted to separate oil from exhaust steam beforethe same is admitted to the heater, to provide an improved form ofsettling tray for heaters of this class, and to provide an improved formof trap for controlling the water and oil overflow outlets. Theseobjects are accomplished by the device shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a feed waterheater constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a plan showingthe form of the water heating and purifying trays. Fig. 3 is a verticalsection of the heater shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailshowing the shape of the flange at the edges of the openings connectingthe casing with the steam heater.

In the construction shown in the drawings, the casing 1 is formed of aplurality of flanged cast iron plates securely bolted together andpacked at the joints to form a steam tight receptacle. A verticallydisposed pipe or header 2 extends along one side of the casing andcommunicates with the interior of the casing by means of a' series oflong and narrow horizontally disposed openings 4, each surrounded by aflared flange which extends inwardly of the header 2.

The header is provided with a steam inlet at 5 and an outlet 6 locatedat opposite sides of the series of openings 4. The inlet 5 and outlet 6are of substantially the same diameter, so that the normal flow of steamthrough the header 2 will be between said inlet and outlet. Steam entersthe casing of the heater through the openings 4 and passes out of thecasing at the outlet 7 which is connected to the exhaust pipe 8 at the T9. The connection between the outlet 6 and the exhaust pipe 8 forms aby-pass connecting the opposite ends of the heater and controlled bymeans of a by-pass valve 10.

A series of horizontally disposed trays ii are arranged one above theother in the upper part of the casing 1. These trays are provided with aplurality of transverse partitions 12, arranged as in Fig. 2 to form atortuous open passage for water flowing along thetrays. The

trays are level and each is provided with a discharge opening 13. Theseopenings are located at different ends of alternate trays so that eachtray will receive water from the tray above at the closed end. The suc'cessive trays are spaced apart so as to provide a passage for steambetween the bottom of one tray and the tops of the partitions 12 of thetray next below. The partitions 12 extend across the trays at rightangles to the direction of the flow of steam through the spaces abovethe trays. The direction of the flow of steam is indicated by the arrow14 in Figs. 2 and 3, and the direction of the flow of water is indicatedby the arrows 15 in Fig. 2. The water flows in opposite directions inalternate trays. The trays are preferably supported by shelves which arecast integral with the side walls of the casing. The trays are alsopreferably formed of cast iron on account of the durability of thismaterial for this PUIPOSG. The trays 11 fit closely to the side wallsand supporting shelves and also to the end wall 16 which is adjacent tothe header 2. The trays 11 are, however, spaced a considerable distanceaway from the door 17 which forms the wall at the opposite end of thecasing so as to provide a passage for the steam to flow upward to theoutlet 7 after having passed across the trays. The door 17 is preferablyof the full width of the casing so that the trays may be readilywithdrawn to be cleaned.

A filter bed is located in the lower part of the casing 1. This bed issubdivided by means of partitions l8 and 19, the partition 18 beingspaced above the bottom so as to provide a passage for water below thesame, and the partition 19- forming a dam over which the water mustflow. The water from the lowest tray 11 is discharged into the space 20between the partition 18 and the adjacent wall of the casing. The spacesbetween the partitions,except the last, which is a clear watercompartment,are filled with filtering material such as coke. The wateroutlet which connects with the boiler is located at 21 and communicateswith said clear water compartment. The first compartment of the filterbed is provided with a surface blow-off 22 for removing any floatingscum or oil from the surface of the water in the casing. An overflowoutlet is located at 23 and is controlled by means of a trap 35.

Water is admitted to the uppermost tray by the supply pipe 24. The feedof water is controlled by two valves 25 and 26 each independent of theother. The valve 25 is regulated by hand and controls the normal orminimum supply of water. The valve 26 is operated by means of a float 27and is arranged to open and admit an additional supply of water when thesurface water in the clear water compartment falls below a certainnormal level. The float 27 is mounted on an arm which is rigid on theshaft 28 extending through one side of the casing and connected with thevalve 26 by means of the arm 29 and link 30. The pipe 24 curves upwardbefore entering the top of the casing so as to trap the water andprevent a water hammer due to the action of the valves when said pipe isempty.

The header 2 is provided with a ribbed baffle plate 32 at the inlet 5which serves to deflect the steam. The steam on striking the bafiieplate and walls of the header deposits thereon the oil which is carriedby the steam. This oil runs down the walls. The lower end 33 of theheader 2 is funnel-shaped and connects with a l pipe 34 through whichthe oil accumulating in the header 2 is conducted away. The pipe 34communicates with the lower end of the trap 35. The overflow pipe 23communicates with the trap 35 at its upper end and extends downwardlyinside of the shell of said trap to a point near the bottom thereof. Theoutlet 36 of the trap is near the top. This trap thus provides for awater seal for closing both the overflow pipe 23 and the discharge pipe34 from the oil separator against the escape of steam.

Blow-offs 37 are provided for draining the several compartments of thefilter bed, and one side of the cas ing is provided with removable doorplates 38 through which the filtering material may be removed andreplaced. A perforated plate or screen 39 supports the filteringmaterial, and a similar screen 40 protects the pipe 21 against anysediment which may have been accidentally carried into the clear watercompartment.

The operation of the device shown is as follows: The exhaust steam fromthe plant with which the heater is connected enters the inlet 5 andafter baffling against the ribbed plate 32, flows through the header 2to the l outlet 6 and then passes off through the exhaust pipe 8. Aportion of the steam enters the casing through the openings 4 and flowsalong between the trays until it finally passes out of the outlet 7 andjoins the main part of the exhaust steam in the exhaust pipe 8. Theoutlet 6 is large enough to take care of the entire flow of the i steamso that, when the valve 10 is wide open, the only steam which enters thecasing is that which takes the place of the steam condensed in heatingthe feed water in the casing. By closing the valve 10, larger amounts ofsteam can be caused to flow through the heater. The required amount ofsteam for raising the feed water to the boiling temperature may be thusdirected to the heater, while the main bulk of the steam passes outthrough the exhaust pipe and may be used for heating or other purposes.The feed water enters the uppermost tray from'the pipe 24. The valve 25is set to suit the normal demands of the boiler and the valve 26 isantomatically operated by the float 27, so as to furnish an additionalsupply of water when the level of the water in the clear watercompartment falls below its normal level as, for instance, at times whenthe speed of the feed pumps is increased to suit temporarily increaseddemands thereon by the boilers. The water entering the trays flows alonga tortuous path between the partitions 12 and is brought into contactwith the steam 1 during its course along the trays. Since the trays arelevel and their discharge openings 13 are not dammed, the water willspread in a thin film over the surface of the trays and will flow slowlyalong the same. The partitions l2 prevent the current of steam fromstriking directly upon the water so as to agitate it or blow it over theends of the trays. It will be seen that the main flow of the water is atright angles to the direction of the flow of the steam and that thewater flows in the same direction as the steam only when it is passingaround the relatively short distances at the ends of the partitions 12.The sweep at these points is too short to permit the formation of waveswhich would agitate the water and cause the same to be carried alongwith the steam. The partitions 12 also extend a considerable distanceabove the surface of the water so that the direct flow of steam isacross the tops of the partitions and the water in the trays is heatedby the steam which eddies between the partitions 12. The water in thetrays is therefore comparatively quiet and the conditions are such thatlime and foreign matter in the water will be deposited upon the trays.These accumulations can be readily removed by opening the door 7, andthen withdrawing and cleaning the trays.

Any oil which may have been carried into the casing by the steam willtend to float on the surface of the water above the filter bed. Thewater, in flowing through the filter bed and screens, is freed from allsubstances which remain in suspension therein after having passedthrough the series of trays. The water is therefore clean and is also atthe boiling temperature when it passes out of the outlet 21 and isdelivered to the boilers.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A feed water heater comprising a casing having therein a plurality ofsubstantially level trays located one above the other, each beingadapted to receive water from the tray above at one end and to overflowinto the tray below at the other end, each of said trays having thereona plurality of partitions extending across the same to cause the waterto flow in a tortuous path between the receiving and delivery ends ofthe tray and the tops of said partitions being spaced below the trayabove to permit the flow of steam across them, said casing having steaminlet and outlet passages arranged to cause steam to flow along thetrays above the tops of said partitions, in a direct path from end toend of the trays and in a direction transverse to the length of saidpartitions and substantially parallel with the trays, said partitionsbeing arranged to shield thewater from the direct current of the steam,and thereby prevent the steam from disturbing the water or driving thesame toward one end of the tray.

2. In a feed water heater, the combination of a casing having therein aplurality of horizontally disposed trays, each adapted to receive waterat one end and to overflow into the next tray below at the other end, aheader extending along said casing at one side thereof and a pluralityof oblong openings connecting said header with said casing, saidopenings being located respectively between successive trays of saidseries and each of said openings having its long dimensions horizontaland adapted to direct the steam in a wide flat column at the entrance tothe trays, and each of said openings being surrounded by a flared flangeextending inwardly of said header and adapted to prevent oil or watercondensing on the walls of said header from being carried into saidheater.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casinghaving therein a series of trays arranged one above the other and eacharranged to overflow into the tray next below, a water supply forfeeding Water to the uppermost tray, a discharge outlet for withdrawingfrom the receptacle water that has passed along said series of trays, asteam pipe or header extending along one side of said receptacle andhaving individual branch passages communicatingwith the different spacesbetween the trays of said receptacle, an exhaust pipe for exhaustingsteam from said header, a valve connecting said exhaust pipe 10 andheader, and a steam outlet connecting the interior of said casing withsaid exhaust pipe at a point beyond said valve.

Signed at Salem, N. Y. this 19th day of March 1906. COLE STICKLE.

Witnesses C. B. MCKEE, C. A. BEATTIE.

